Sauber Finds Glimmers of Hope Despite Point-less Finish at Monza

Clean team sees "encouraging indication," but Valtteri Bottas remains without points

Clean team leader maintains there is cause for hope

Sauber thinks they have gotten closer to their closest competitors even though they have not yet earned any points at the F1 Italian Grand Prix.

Valtteri Bottas secured the 16th position at the Monza race, finishing two spots in front of his teammate Guanyu Zhou.

Valtteri Bottas, Zhou Guanyu, and Logan Sargeant—who has recently been replaced at Williams—are the only Formula 1 drivers in 2024 yet to score a point. Additionally, Sauber is the sole team without any points.

Sauber's pair of drivers secured positions at the rear of the grid, prompting the team to equip Bottas with hard tires for an extended initial stint. However, these strategies did not yield significant results.

Nonetheless, team spokesperson Alessandro Alunni Bravi maintains a hopeful outlook.

He stated that while the final standings might appear similar to those in earlier races, there were encouraging aspects in the team's performance.

"Each driver effectively handled their hard and medium tires, enabling us to stick to our pre-race strategy while keeping tire wear in check."

"Although we still don't have the speed needed to compete for points, the low-drag package we introduced at Monza and the adjustments we made for qualifying enhanced the car's balance, giving Valtteri and Zhou an opportunity to contend."

"We are not yet in a position to compete for points, but it is crucial to recognize that the distance between us and our main rivals has decreased – this is an encouraging development that should be highlighted."

Bottas shared his thoughts on the race, saying, "It was a straightforward and quiet race for us. We opted for a one-stop strategy, beginning with the hard tires, as we attempted something different and hoped to benefit from a possible Safety Car at the right moment."

"Regrettably, things didn't go as planned for us, but I believe it was worthwhile to make the attempt."

Reflecting on the events of the race, I have no regrets about my decisions. We managed to overtake a few competitors, reaching 16th place through our own efforts, but achieving anything beyond that was not feasible.

"We didn't see significant improvements in our speed. The weekend began positively, but we struggled to maintain that momentum and make further gains. Nevertheless, it was certainly an improvement over our performance at Zandvoort. We have plenty of work to do to make more progress, and that's what we'll focus on as we prepare for the upcoming consecutive races in Baku and Singapore."

Zhou commented that their speed today was insufficient to compete for points, particularly in a race that proceeded smoothly without any major disruptions or surprises.

"Although our speed has definitely improved since last weekend in Zandvoort, we are still lagging behind our main rivals in terms of performance."

Over the weekend, our one-lap speed has shown some progress, but it's evident that we need to fine-tune the car and have a perfect performance throughout to achieve the optimal outcome.

"Instead of depending on chance, our team is dedicated to staying focused and putting in the effort to shave off those vital fractions of a second that will edge us nearer to the top ten."

Sauber is set to transition into Audi next year, although they will maintain their existing form.

Nico Hulkenberg has secured a contract with Haas for the 2025 season, putting Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu at risk of being cut from Formula 1 entirely.

The only two teams with open driver spots for the next season are Sauber and Red Bull.

Discover More

Breaking News

Breaking News

Site Map

Crash.Net

©1999-2024 Crash Media Group

Reproducing the text, images, or drawings in full or in part is strictly prohibited.